Council of Architecture

The Council of Architecture was constituted through the Architects Act, 1972, by the Government of India. The Act offers registration of the Architects, the recognized qualifications, standards of education, practice standards to be followed by the architects who are practicing.

The Council of Architecture is bestowed with responsibilities of regulating the education and also the practice of the profession of architecture all over India apart from the registration of the architects. The Government of India has outlined certain Rules while the Council of Architecture has outlined Regulations for this same purpose.

All those persons who want to engage themselves with the profession of ‘Architecture’ should register themselves with the Council of Architecture. After acquiring the relevant education as per the Council of Architecture, the Registration of Architects needs certain qualifications as mentioned in the Architects Act namely “Minimum Standards of Architectural Education Regulations”, 1983.

Once the architect is registered with the Council of Architecture, he is entitled practice architecture as a profession. But he is required to have an up-to-date Certificate of Registration. This registration also enables the architect to use both the style and title of Architect.

The practice and work of the profession of architecture is ruled by the “Architects (Professional Conduct) Regulations,”1989. The Act deals with conditions of engagement, professional etiquette and ethics and architectural competition guidelines, scale of charges, etc. The Council has also prepared guidelines to govern the different aspects of the practice. An architect is needed to stick to professional conduct, the violation of which will amount to professional misconduct.

135 institutions in India provide architectural education that leads to recognized qualifications. These institutions comprise of departments of universities, deemed universities, constituent colleges, affiliated colleges and schools, NITs, IITs, and other autonomous institutions. The Council of Architecture governs the standards of architectural education offered by these institutions. The Council has set up eligibility criteria for admission, standards of staff, course duration, accommodation, examination, course content, etc. The COA looks after the maintenance of these standards by conducting periodical inspections with the help of “Committees of Experts”. The Central Government is from time to time informed by COA about the maintenance of standards by all the architectural institutions. The Council of Architecture also has the right to recommend to the Government of India about the recognition or de-recognition of any qualification.